Friday, April 25, 2014

South Prairie Fly-In 2014

According to the Gallopin' Gerties the South Prairie Fly-In May 10th this year. This is a must attend event. It was easily my favorite event last year. If you don't know why this might help to explain it.


Type

I sometimes feel I'm developing a bit of a motorcycle type.


Johnson Motors Crocker Brochure

Jeff Decker posted this letterhead on Facebook recently. I had no idea JOMO ever sold Crockers. Too cool.


Start 'Em Young

Jimmy Phillips with daughter Andrea


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Ready


Velocette GTP

The ST-165 we are working on has gotten me thinking a lot about this bike. Everything perfect in an old bike AND a two stroke! Irresistible combination in my book.


Monday, April 21, 2014

Stainless Steel Fords

Ford Motor Company built these cars so Allegheny Ludlum Steel, a division of Allegheny Ludlum Industries, Inc. could showcase the functional and decorative uses of stainless steel.


The cars pictured in this trio from left to right are a 1936 Ford, 1967 Lincoln Continental, and a 1960 Ford Thunderbird. Each car was produced in extremely limited numbers and was a valuable asset forThese cars were not the promotional trailer queens that one would expect from today’s limited edition cars salesmen who would travel with these cars to spread the word about the benefits of stainless steel. These cars were not the promotional trailer queens that one would expect from today’s limited edition cars. Six 1936 Fords were made and each had racked up over 200,000 miles before they were no longer used by Allegheny’s promotional team in 1946. Two Thunderbirds and three Lincolns were also produced and pounded the pavement much like their 1936 counterparts.
These cars were not the promotional trailer queens that one would expect from today’s limited-edition cars. Six 1936 Fords were made, and each had racked up over 200,000 miles before they were no longer used by Allegheny’s promotional team in 1946. Two Thunderbirds and three Lincolns were also produced, and pounded the pavement much like their 1936 counterparts. - See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/04/08/from-the-archives-allegheny-ludlums-stainless-steel-fords/#sthash.aiUVgH40.dpuf
These cars were not the promotional trailer queens that one would expect from today’s limited-edition cars. Six 1936 Fords were made, and each had racked up over 200,000 miles before they were no longer used by Allegheny’s promotional team in 1946. Two Thunderbirds and three Lincolns were also produced, and pounded the pavement much like their 1936 counterparts. - See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/04/08/from-the-archives-allegheny-ludlums-stainless-steel-fords/#sthash.aiUVgH40.dpuf

Saturday, April 19, 2014

ST-165 Update

The HD ST-165 Flathead Rob and I have been working on is pretty near complete. It's gonna be pretty nice I think.


It's been fun and the project is a wonderful cause. That said, I think Rob and I both are looking a little bit forward to working on our own neglected stuff. Seeing the ST165 so close makes me really anxious to see Rob's Indian complete. I really hope to get back on my T110 someday soon again too. Vaughn has been making it pretty clear the Yamaha 80 will be the next bike on my lift.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Goodwood Indian

I never tire of seeing old bikes that get used. I have to make it to Goodwood one day.

Chief

I can't wait to see Flathead Rob's Chief back on the road.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Carlsbad Motocross 500 USGP

I've been thinking a bit recently about attending the Suzuki School of Motocross back in the summer of 1982. The school was hosted at Carlsbad Speedway, the only US based track on the International Motocross Grand Prix schedule. I remember being pretty damn excited to ride the same track the best of the best raced on. It looks almost lame by today's standards. It makes me feel pretty old now too. I hear the track is now was cleared for a housing development some years ago.  Again, I am old.



Tragically David Bailey was injured in a crash prior to the 1987 season which left him a paraplegic. I saw Broc Glover pimping Dunlop tires at the Seattle Supercross last weekend. He was not rocking the pink leathers. Ironically those leathers look pretty subdued by today's standards too.

1940 Indian Chief

This beauty belongs to someone I recently met through this blog. It makes me so eager to see Flathead Rob's done.


Monday, April 14, 2014

2014 Tsawwassen Show-N-Shine

I was just informed the 2014 Tsawwassen Show-N-Shine has been unavoidably canceled. Bummer.


Triumph Quadrant

No matter how much I learn about Triumph motorcycle history I still routinely learn common knowledge things I should really "just know." The Quadrant four is a perfect example. I had no idea this 4 cylinder prototype ever existed.

1975 Triumph "Quadrant"

It's cool but still not as cool as this one-off V6.


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Ran When Parked

1971 Yamaha JT1 - This matched pair is kinda cool. Unfortunately the RD400 based Kenny Roberts replica flat tracker is not part of the deal.



Supercross Dirt

As the Seattle Supercross approached I had been wondering how they handled the dirt and how long it took to setup and teardown a track. This Seattle Times piece answers a lot of those questions.


 It takes a village, plus a fleet of trucks and earthmovers, to get the work done in roughly a seven-day span. The dirt director (Dave Allen, based in Illinois), a traveling crew of six dirt specialists, a 14-member operations team and, when the last race is run, around 60 local temp workers who assist with the teardown.

“We’re staged in a corner, waiting for a call from TV that they have cut off the air,” Phend said. “As soon as we have that call, we’re on the floor.”

But where did all that dirt come from? Where does it go?

The Supercross tour owns the dirt and has storage deals in each city. Seattle’s dirt is stored in Federal Way and, like most cities, is shared with the Monster Jam truck tour.
“It’s been the same dirt for many, many years, way before I came here,” said Phend, in his seventh year. “There’s silty mixture in this stuff. It’s got to have come out of a riverbed. Softer dirt tends to break down.”


“This year we’re pretty lucky because the weather isn’t as bad as many years past. We got three of the lanes built Monday and got them covered with plastic before rain hit it. It’s in better shape than it’s ever been right now.”

Track builds are fast and furious. At CenturyLink, the process began last Saturday morning when the field was covered with polyethylene plastic (Visqueen). A layer of interlocking vinyl panels went on top of that.

Next, two layers of plywood. Then a 5-inch layer of ground asphalt  “road base" to keep the track from becoming a bog if rain falls.

Finally about 500 truckloads of dirt, about 1.5 million pounds, are offloaded. Bulldozers and frontloaders (often eight or more) mold it into bumps, humps and tight turns. Then come 750 foam lane barriers, enough to fill three semis, plus a big finish-line video display and several crowd-wowing, fire-spewing towers.

Ran When Parked

1936 Austin Seven - Spotted on Bring A Trailer. Some touches, like the diamond plate interior, don't much float my boat but it's still pretty cool in concept. 


})();